Paper Hearts and Cardboard Boxes
by KingxLeon21
Summary: they're going out, they meet in a club, and it pretty much just goes downhill from there. AU  sort of  I don't own iCarly.
1. Chapter 1

Yo Yo, guess who's here. It's your friendly neighborhood KL21 here with another fic for (what I hope will be) your viewing pleasure. This is a bit of an AU. nothing outlandish mind you, but its not set in the show's universe. Sam and Carly know each other... they're friends... they don't know Freddie... Freddie and Gibby are little more than co worker's at the start. ages are 22-23.

A bit of an additional disclaimer: the sexist remarks in this chapter, do not, in any way, reflect my opinion of women. any offense caused i deeply apologize for.

i think that's all I got so...

I present to you, the first chapter of "Paper Hearts and Cardboard Boxes" Written to the tune of "The Dance Floor Anthem (I Don't Wanna Be In Love)" by Good Charlotte.

Please, do enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 1

"Whatever, Rick. Have fun with your whore." She ends the call and throws her phone on her bed. She wasted four months on that douche bag. Maybe it wasn't such a long time in the grand scheme of things but it was four months that she couldn't get back. She could've been doing anything… focusing on school, focusing on friends… eating, the possibilities were endless and every single one of them equated to a better use of four months than spending it with that cheating scuzz-bag. She shakes her head to get the regret out of her mind.

She goes through the drawers finding all of Rick's things. She grabs an old packing box from the closet and tosses all of his things inside. She sets it by the door. She starts to dial his number to inform him of where to pick up his things. She is suddenly struck with a better idea.

She sends Carly a txt.

_Hey Carls, another  
1 bites the dust  
well… dis 1 decided  
2 kill himself. I'll xplain  
l8r jus meet me at the park._

She hits send and goes to get her jacket. She goes to grab her keys and sees that she hasn't gone through her mail yet. Deciding that she had nothing better to do she sifts through it now. "Junk… crap… garbage… bill… bill… bill…" She comes across a flyer that she figures she picked up outside of a bar last night. "hmmm… 'V-day throwdown at Heartbreaker's, ladies free before 11,'" she scoffs at the flyer, "'Throwdown?' What year do they think it is?" She shrugs after giving the flyer another thought.

She stares back at the box of Rick's clothes and other miscellaneous items. A devious smirk plays across her face. "Looks like mama's goin' clubbin' tonight." She retreats to her room to grab a change of clothes. She stared at her bed in disgust, silently reminding herself to burn the sheets when she returned. She yanks her sheets off of the bed and throws them in the box with the rest of Rick's junk. She tapes up the box and throws it down the hall into the living area. The box takes out a lamp on its way down. She shrugs… _Rick bought that lamp._

She kicks the box to the door, and grabs her keys and jacket. She picks up Rick's box on the way out and sees the flyer again. Giving a dismissive laugh she sets the box down and pulls the door closed, "Throwdown… that is ridiculous." She locks the door and picks up the box and carries it to the elevator. The sound of her cell phone cuts through the silence of the ride to the bottom floor.

She sighs in exasperation, _someone obviously doesn't know what 'later' means._ She checks the screen on her phone. Instead of seeing Carly's name, as she suspected, Rick's name flashed across the screen, which was just as expected, but a lot less welcome. _See ya Rick._ She pressed the end button, thus, ignoring his call. She placed the phone in her pocket. She reaches her car and throws the box into the bed of her pick-up truck. As she jumps into the driver's seat she feels her phone vibrate against her leg. She gives an exasperated sigh, knowing that it's a voicemail, and reaches into her pocket, pressing the end button, not bothering to check it. There were more important things to take care of.

She takes her phone out of her pocket at the sound of wind chimes, _I've really gotta change that._ She looks at her phone and sees Carly's response.

_Why r we meeting at  
the park? We usually  
just meet up at the GS?_

Sam sends a quick response, eager to purge what is left of Rick from her life.

_Just trust me Shay.  
It'll b fun._

Sam sends the message, starts the truck, and heads to the park. The chimes sound again… she really needs to change that tone. She reaches a red light and checks her phone.

_Dear Lord, fine  
I'll c u there n about  
10 min._

Sam smirks reveling in the tiny victory that she knew was coming.

_Cool nd I promise u  
Carls once I tell u wat  
happened u'll understand  
nd it'll be just as fun 4 u :)_

She sends the message and continues her trek to the park, ignoring the cacophony of blaring horns and the plethora of lewd language being lobbed at her for holding up traffic. Nothing could bring her down right now, This was going to be a fun night…

a very fun night, indeed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You know what Freddie?" Freddie didn't even turn around to acknowledge the voice that had, over the past few weeks, become extremely irritating. "It's Saturday, Freddie… _Saturday_."

She had just come through the door, not twenty-five minutes ago, and she was already whining. Freddie heaved an annoyed sigh, though he was sure she didn't notice… or didn't _care_ to notice, "Yes, I'm aware of what day it is." He came to, what he felt, was a good stopping point. He turned to address her, "Is there any specific reason you're bringing it up… again?" she had been nagging him for a while. He had no idea when she got so naggy, but he had long since, decided that he didn't like it.

"I wanna go out tonight, Freddie." She whined, with a pout.

Freddie ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "I told you that I had to work tonight."

Freddie was a film editor. Actually, Freddie was trying to break his way into film editing, but being fresh out of college, or even two years removed, he wasn't in very high demand and was, in fact, largely unknown. And, on top of that, he was more or less a freelancer. He had done one successful commercial for a low budget car dealership. They liked the job he did so whenever they needed a commercial they would come to him. The dealership even dropped his name a few times. Unfortunately, the only people the small time dealers knew were other small time companies. He would take the work where he could get it but the pay wasn't great.

There was some value to working for yourself. Freddie had decided, however, that money definitely wasn't one of those values. However, he was hopeful that a job at a production studio was right around the corner. He just had to find the right people.

Speaking of _the right people_, "Why do you have to work _tonight_?" He was positive that his girlfriend wasn't one of them.

"Because, Cassandra…' He says turning back around to continue his work, "… you had me take you out every other day this week. And now the deadline for this project Sunday." He snarls at his computer screen because he knows that, had he not been out with her for a majority of his time, that he would have finished two days ago. "And if I want to keep my place, then I need to be finished by then, because, if I don't meet the deadline; I don't get paid."

Sandra huffs in indignation, "Fine! I'm going out with or without you." Freddie watched, rather apathetically, as she picked up her jacket and keys and walked out of the apartment. "Give me a call when you come to your senses." Freddie raises an eyebrow as she exits and slams the door behind her.

He lets out a despondent sigh. He's not gonna get anything else done tonight. He decides to call the director of the indie film he was editing.

He waits for a response. Finally he gets an answer, "Hello?"

"Hey Gib, this is Freddie."

"Yo, what's up Freddie, my man? How's my favorite editor?"

"If I remember correctly, Gib, I was the last choice."

"Details… minor details. You got the job, didn't ya?"

"Yeah, about that… something came up and I was hoping I could get an extension."

"Well… that depends, what came up?"

Freddie's multitude of options flew across threw his mind. There were a number of suitable lies that would suffice. He could say his mother fell ill, but if she fell ill, for real, then he would feel terrible. He could say his computer crashed, but that could get him kicked off the project entirely. He decides to settle on the truth. _What's the worst that could happen?_

He shakes his head, "Having girl issues."

"Hey man, say no more. I know how they can get sometimes. You know that God gave women two sets of lips?" Freddie has no idea where Gibby's going with this, and he's almost positive that he didn't really want to know, " Yeah, now they can piss and moan at the same time. Am I right? Am I right?" Freddie hazards a small chuckle hoping not to fall out of the good graces of, who was essentially, his boss. "Anyway, there's a thing going on at Heartbreaker's. You down for getting' out tonight?"

"I would but I don't have any money. Well… any extra money."

"Don't worry about it bro…" _Bro?_ "I got you."

"Cool. Thanks again man."

"No prob man. You know what they say: the best way to get over one girl is to get under another one." Freddie released another small chuckle. "See ya there at 10… on second thought, make it 10:30."

Freddie thought to ask why, but decided he'd rather not hear the answer, "Cool, see ya there." He ended the phone call.

He leaned his head on the wall. If he had his way he'd be working right now. He wouldn't be dealing with his demanding girlfriend, and he wouldn't be dealing with his perv of a director. He glanced at the clock on his desk.

_9:30_.

He had about an hour before he had to leave. He had no idea what he was going to do until then. He had no idea what he was going to wear. He had no idea how the night was going to go. But there was one thing that he was certain of…

_I really hate my girlfriend._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam and Carly stood in the park looking at the results of their "fun". Sam pressed a few buttons on her phone and returned it to her pocket.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Sam stares at her friend with a scowl. How could she say that knowing what he did, "I know what he did but this seems a little excessive."

"Excessive! Carly, he cheated on me… with Sandy, of all people."

Sandy was her lab partner, even more than that, Sandy had become something close to what she could consider a friend.

"Well, what did he say when you talked to him?"

She scoffed at the silly and pointless question, "He rattled off some junk about still 'loving' me and being tricked into it and it being an accident… standard male douche bag stuff."

Carly nodded. She could tell by the tone of her friend's voice that another relationship had indeed bit the dust. Though Carly couldn't be too disappointed if what she was hearing was accurate. "You said he left a voicemail?"

"Well, _someone_ did. I'm assuming it's him because it came shortly after he called. I got a couple of others too."

"Well, should we hear the 'dishrag's' final words?"

Sam shrugged. It couldn't hurt, right? She went through the process and put her phone on speaker.

"_Sam? You gotta believe me! It was all a mistake! She means nothing to me! It's only you baby, it's always only ever been you! Call me back, Sam! Let's talk this over!_

Sam erased the message and moved on to the next one. It was from Rick as well.

"_Sam? I just got back to the apartment and you weren't there. Where are you? I really think we need to talk about this. C'mon Baby I lo-"_

Sam ended the message before it finished. "Lying, tool whore of a…"

"Sam, you've got one more message." Carly sighed when Sam stopped her tirade. She never really was a fan of the language that came with it, though to be honest, it was appropriate in this case.

"Yep, one more message… then he goes on the good ole' 'block list.'" She played the message.

"_I found a flyer for the Valentine 's Day throwdown… throwdown…? Wh-Whatever! Is this where you're goin'! huh! Is this where you are! You better not be because I swear to God if I have to come down there and get you, it won't be pretty! Are you out with your little Brunette friend… what's her name…? Carly! Are you out with your little skank friend… dancing around… bein all flirty and whatnot! Shakin' it for some other guy! You bet-"_

Sam stopped the message with trembling hands. She was pissed… pissed that he had the nerve to attack her like that, when _he_ was the one who was caught cheating. She was even more pissed that he attacked her friend, her best friend, and didn't even have the audacity to remember her name in his inane rant. And to top everything off… He had the nerve to think _he_ could tell _her_ what to do.

She turned to address her friend, "So Carly." She looked at her friend's face, which was now scrunched in anger and contorted in exasperation, "What do you think of the "fun" we had now?"

Carly's weird expression subsided, and returned Sam's devious smirk with a playful one of her own, "Best time I ever had."

"Kid…" Sam hangs an arm around Carly's shoulders, "… you ain't seen nothin' yet."

As they saunter to Sam's truck, Rick's voicemail replays through her mind. She bares her teeth.

Nope, He hasn't seen anything yet.

* * *

Well there ya have it. The first part of what can be considered an extended one shot. The second half is coming soon… so any questions you have will (may) be answered in the next fic. A bit of an additional disclaimer: the sexist remarks in this chapter, do not, in any way, reflect my opinion of women. any offense caused i deeply apologize for.

BUT! Before you leave I've got an announcement to make…

Keep an eye open for the Cabal's mass Valentines weekend posting on Friday, February 11th! Many of The Cabal members will be posting one shots or continuing their stories!

I could tell you exactly what to expect, but that will take the surprise out of it, and we all know how much I like surprises.

If you just can't wait until then to read stuff from the Cabal, then shoot on over to their pages and check them out:

Arrossisce… aussiemma… axel100… BaalRules… BoxOfTrinkets… boxofpiglets… Commander Lagasse… Coyote Laughs… ItalianBabexo8… iCabal… iCarlyangst… iLuvNathanKrEsS… JamesTheGreater… KingxLeon21… Myjumpingsocks… ober22… pairababes… Pieequals36… pigwiz… Tech-Man… The Earl of Sandwich… xXACCEBXx

I promise, you won't be disappointed.


	2. Chapter 2

Yo Yo, it's chapter two… same rules apply as chapter one, Let's get into this.

* * *

Chapter 2

Freddie and gibby are standing in line to get into the club. Freddie looks up at the neon sign. _Neon? Really?_

"Freddie my man I promise you… we're gonna have a good time tonight." The music is blaring and can be heard outside. Gibby starts to dance, "By the time you wake up in the morning, you won't even be thinkin' about ole' 'what's her name'."

Freddie looks at his… he supposes he'll call him colleague… Dance like an idiot outside of a club filled with women, the majority of whom Freddie could only assume were beautiful. "Gib please… please stop…" he assesses his colleague's actions, "… doing… _that_."

"No can do Fred-man." Freddie pinches the bridge of his nose. He should have just stayed home and tried to soldier through the rest of the movie. "Trust me… it drives the ladies wild." He _really_ hated his girlfriend.

He feels his phone vibrate. He checks the display. He sighs at the name and answers it. "Hello?"

"Freddie…" Her voice is more annoying than it has normally been in the past week, "Guess, where I am?" she sounds upset, Freddie struggles to care. Luckily she didn't wait for him to answer, "I'm standing in your apartment…" Freddie's brow furrows. "…and guess who's not in it?"

"Wait… you're in _my_ apartment?"

"Is the ole' ball and…" Freddie raises a hand to shush the chattering colleague.

"_How _are you in my apartment."

"I had a key made."

"You… had a…. but… you can't just…" Freddie is well aware of his director staring at him as his face turns red with rage. Freddie takes a few deep breaths and calmly ends the call and puts the phone in his pocket.

"Hey man… you ok?" Freddie looks over to his colleague's concerned face. He decides that he can be upgraded to acquaintance. Freddie nods and his acquaintance's features relax. "Good."

Maybe one day they will call themselves friends. But for now… "Yeah… I'm good. I just need a drink."

"No problem man… you're really comin' through for me with this movie. Your drinks are on me tonight." Freddie hazards a smile and is about to thank him when they hear the roar of an engine. And see a truck as it roves around the parking lot looking for a space.

Freddie studies all of the other cars in the lot and makes an observation. "That doesn't seem to be a 'club' car."

"What does that even mean?"

"Well, look at all the other cars in the parking lot: Mercedes, Lexus, Cadillac, Chrysler… but nowhere do you see an old F-150."

Two girls get out of the car and Freddie and Gibby are fixated. "That may not be a 'club car' but those are _definitely_ 'club girls'."

"What? Do you know 'em"

"No, but I want to." Gibby holds out his fist for a fist bump, "You know what I'm sayin'?" Freddie decides to humor him and bump his fists. Gibby smiles and turns his attention back to the two girls that are bypassing the line and heading straight for the door.

One, being of average height, wearing a black dress made to show off her legs, with straight brunette hair, caught Gibby's eye. "Man, would you look at the legs on that brunette?"

Freddie nods and whistles lowly, "Yeah they're nice…" Freddie catches another look at the girls. His eyes fall on the other girl, with a red dress that hugs her curves, and an abundance curly blonde hair that seemed to refuse to be contained. "… but, to tell ya the truth…" He observes her for a moment longer and their eyes meet briefly. She smiles and disappears into the club.

"I've got a thing for blondes."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh my God Sam, did you see that guy outside? He was, totally, checking you out." Carly joked with her friend. Carly's smile faltered when Sam seemed disinterested.

"You think so?" Sam is aware of her less than chipper demeanor but couldn't bring herself to care at the moment.

"What's with you?" came a question from the brunette. She knew what the problem was. I mean If she had just found her boufriend cheating on her, she would…

"I can't find the key to my apartment. I think I left it in there."

"I keep tellin' you to put it on the key ring with your keys." Carly is shocked at her seeming flippancy towards the situation. But smiles anyway, "Well… you can always stay at my place."

"Cool, thanks. So what were you sayin' earlier…? Somethin' about some guy?"

Carly just chuckles and shakes her head. "I'm talking about the guy that was silently flirting with you in the line."

"You think so?" Carly almost slaps her forehead in disbelief, realizing that this part of the conversation could have been forgone. Carly soldiers on anyway.

"I know so." Carly refused to let it bring her down and only grew more determined to bring her friend out of her slump, "Trust me, girlie. Someone out there wants to make you his lady." They made their way to the bar.

"Yeah…" Sam scoffed, "or another notch." She looked over at Carly with half lidded eyes, "Which do you think is more likely?"

Carly shifted to her coddling mode, "Sam, all guys aren't like Rick, and you shouldn't be so down on yourself. I'm sure that…"

"Whoa whoa whoa…" Sam said with a chuckle, "I'm not down on myself. I'm awesome and Rick missed out." She turned her attention to the dance floor, "… and I'm sure your fictional guy who was checkin me out…"

"He was."

"Whatever… I'm sure he's nice but it'll take more than that." She looks over at her solemn friend and decides that she's been down long enough, "But enough about that!" Her sudden outburst startles her friend, as well as others at the bar, "Bartender! Gimme a drink, don't care what it is, just make it strong." She looked back at Carly and smiled, "Tonight, mama's gonna dance."

With those words she threw back her drink and headed to the dance floor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's wild in here tonight man!" Gibby yelled over the music.

Freddie was about to respond before he heard a roar coming from what seemed to be the center of the room. He started to head to see what the commotion was, but was pulled aside by Gibby, "Listen man. You don't wanna go to the dance floor without a dance partner." Instead of heading to the dance floor, Freddie followed Gibby to the bar.

"So help me out here Gib… I need to find a girl to dance with, so is there anything that I need to know before I jump in?"

"Just be yourself man. Girls don't like confidence more than they like you being real. Just be real, man… be yourself."

"Noo… being myself is no good."

"Trust me man, it's the way to go." Freddie took a deep breath and scoped out the options at the club. He silently wished that there was a beginner's class for clubbing. He sees a girl that seems accessible so he decides to give it a shot. "Wait, Freddie, before you go…" Gibby turns around to address the bartender and is pleasantly surprised to see that it's a female, "Hey, listen sweetie, I've got a first timer with me tonight and I want to make this a night to remember… give me four tequila shots please." The bartender smiled and took his money, "Thanks beautiful." Gibby called after, with a smile.

'You see… I can't do that." Freddie reviewed the order when the shot glasses arrived, "Four straight tequila shots? What are you… rich?"

Gibby just laughs and holds up a glass motioning for Freddie to do the same. Freddie holds up the shot glass in question, Gibby's only explanation was, "For good luck." And with those words Freddie and Gibby knocked back their shots.

Freddie, feeling emboldened by his new ventures this evening, decides that he will just jump into the fray. However, before he can leave the bar his phone buzzes in his pocket. Against his better judgment, he takes it out of his pocket and looks at the display.

Gibby watches as Freddie's smile falls, and Gibby can feel the weight press down on himself, and he can only imagine how bad it fells for Freddie. Freddie suddenly doesn't feel like dancing. In that one moment all of Freddie's energy left him and he wanted to just be at home in his bed.

Gibby studied his friend and, finally, came up with a bout of advice that was appropriate. "Listen, the business you're trying to get into… It's stressful. Especially when you're an independent director like myself or a freelance editor like you are. Work isn't steady and you're almost always on the verge of losing everything and everybody. Life is stressful enough, you don't need her if she is just making it worse." Freddie nodded.

He knew that his friend, that's right, _friend_, was correct. He would rather be alone than with his nag of a girlfriend. He shook his head and changed his statement, It was _best_ that he be alone rather than be with his girlfriend that continually added on to the stress that suffered from. The stress built up with the thoughts of the task he must perform

"You're right." Freddie nods and heaves a sigh, "I need another drink."

Gibby nodded, "Bartender!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam returned from the dance floor. "Nice to see you in a better mood."

"Nice to be in a better mood, kid." Carly laughed at the return of a nickname, the origin of which she wasn't sure of. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't really matter. Her friend seemed to be back. Of course that would mean…

"Hey there, cutie…" Carly watched her friends face adopt a bored expression. Carly watches as Sam follows the guy to the other side of the bar. "I saw you out there on the floor and I was just thinkin' that maybe…"

Sam holds up a hand, effectively cutting the guy's speech short. Sam guessed it that it wasn't too much of a problem, as it wasn't anything that she hasn't heard before, "Not today."

"Awww," said the guy, feigning hurt feeling, "Why not sweetie? I saw the way you worked the dance floor." A sly grin spreads across his face, "it looked, to me, like you were plenty ready." Sam raises an eyebrow at his assumption.

She smiles sweetly at the guy and places her hand on the back of his neck. She pulls his face closer to hers. When she sees the guy's eyes drift shut, Sam Raises a knee. The guy's yelp of pain barely comes out in a strained yelp. She moves her face closer to his ear and whispers, "I hope it was as good for you as it was for me." And with those words she saunters back over to Carly's side.

Carly smiles as she watches her friend return to her side. "So… what did he want?" she asked with a playful giggle.

Sam turns and sees the guy on his hands and knees, gasping for air. She looks at Carly and shrugs, "I don't know… must've lost a contact or something."

The two laugh at the joke and turn around to survey their surroundings. Carly sees some guy eyeing them from the other end of the bar. She recognized him as the guy who was checking Sam out earlier, outside of the club.

Carly nudged Sam, "So, what do you think _he_ wants?" she nods towards the guy.

Sam sees the guy and looks him up and down. She shrugs, "I don't know." She catches herself staring at him… "Maybe we'll find out before the night's over."

She doesn't notice the smile that's tugging at the corners of her mouth

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Freddie stares at his phone. Gibby looks on with concern, but decides to leave Freddie to stir in his thoughts for a little while. He looks up to see a girl walking straight towards them. Gibby nudges Freddie and nods toward the approaching lady, "Hey Fred… check it out."

Freddie looks up and his eyebrows rise. Freddie couldn't bring himself to talk to her… not yet. He could feel his fight or flight response kick in as his heart started beating faster and faster. Before he's able to kick his brain into gear the woman had reached him.

Luckily she was in no mood to let his brain give his mouth words to speak with, "What are you doing here Freddie? You told me you couldn't bring me out because you were working late."

"Well _Cassie_," he started, stressing the short version of her name, which he knew she hated, "If you hadn't stormed out of the apartment like a stubborn child…"

"Who are you calling a child? _I'm_ not the one telling lies just to get away from his girlfriend. _I'm _not the one ignoring calls all night." Freddie raised an eyebrow.

This wasn't exactly true. There had been plenty of nights where his girlfriend's phone had sent him straight to voicemail, something she never did for other calls when she was out with him. And, being the logical person that he is, he figured that if she would answer her phone for other while she was out with her boyfriend, then surely she would answer her boyfriend when he called her.

What made the matter suspicious, was that it only seemed to started happening recently. However, he wasn't one to snoop around. It's never been in his nature to do that. So he was waiting for her to slip up… he would find evidence sooner or later, but she was crafty when she wanted to be and it seemed that she _really_ wanted to be crafty now-a-days.

Freddie looked up and noticed that she had been talking the whole time… and was still talking. he sighs and turns his head and sees the girl that had smiled at him earlier. She was farther away this time but he could see a faint smile forming on her lips. The corners of his mouth started to turn up in response when, "Freddie? Freddie! Freddie!" he snapped his head back to the girl that was now in his face.

"What are you looking at?" Cassandra's eyes widen, "You came here…" She looks over at Gibby, "with this _troll_ looking for another girl?" She was pouring it on a little thick, wasn't she? "You know what Freddie, its over." She stormed off… He went to chase her but realizes that he was a little tipsy. He stumbles a bit and has no choice but to watcher her walk off. He tries to chase after her again but Gibby puts a hand on his shoulder and shakes his head.

Freddie leans against the bar for support, "Sorry bout that Gib. She's a…"

"No worries man. They can't all be angels."

Freddie nodded at his newly anointed friend. Freddie took a deep breath, "Let's make this one a night to remember?"

Enthusiastically, Gibby responded, "Shoosh yeah!"

Gibby orders a couple more drinks and Freddie throws them back. Feeling emboldened by the alcohols flowing through his system, he takes a few deep breaths and few wary steps towards the dance floor. He doesn't know how to dance, he's never been too much of a social type. But today was a day of changes for him, and this was going to be one of them. Lost in his reverie, he bumps into someone. "Hey!" he hears a voice bellow out in agitation.

The offended person turns around and Freddie is met with a pair of the most captivating blue eyes he's ever seen. At a loss for words, and stunned into a stupor, that he refused to believe was caused by his current inebriated state, all her could say was…

"Hi, my name is Freddie."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

She stares into the brown eyes, temporarily immobilized by the admiration that she saw in them. However, she quickly recovers, "I think the words you're looking for are 'Sorry, I'm a bumbling doofus,' followed by your begging my forgiveness."

The guy, who's name was apparently Freddie, smirked a bit answered her, "You're right, Sorry for bein clumsy." He looked out to the dance floor. He looked at her with confidence, "Ummm, how bout I make it up to you with a dance?" He sounded nervous.

It was a different approach than what was normally used with her. She found it oddly refreshing. She figured she'd at least get a laugh out of this. She smiled in response to his offer, "Sure thing pal." She let him lead her to the floor.

It was at this point where she took the time to assess the specimen. He was tall with an average build. He wasn't a gym rat, but he wasn't a wimp. His wardrobe definitely needed an upgrade, but circumstances may be preventing that so that could slide. He had a boyishly handsome quality about him. He was… adorable… she would even say cute if the issue was pressed. However the issue wasn't pressed and they found themselves on the dance floor. The DJ decided to play some cheesy techno music. Sam rolled with it.

Once the song ended, she noticed that he looked a bit out of place. _What an idiot. Why ask me to dance if he didn't know how?_ She looked at him again. _At least he's tryin'._ She places a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "You're tryin' too hard!" she yelled over the hip hop beat that the DJ put on.

"Just…try to feel the music." She demonstrated, moving with the beat of the song. She gestured for him to try. He did… he failed. She shook her head. Normally she would have left the guy on the dance floor, looking like an idiot. However, the drinks she had, made her feel a bit more loose than she normally was.

She laughed and walked towards him. "Here, just follow me." She pressed her body up against his, and placed his hands on her hips. She smiled as she was met with little resistance or protest from him. She swayed her hips to the rhythm of the music. He slowly followed. The music picked up and Sam felt that he had the hang of it enough so that she could dance freely again. She turned around and felt an arm wrap around her waist. He was definitely more gym rat than wimp.

She closed her eyes and lost herself in the music. Then she felt the arm remove itself from her waist, and heard a familiar voice… and it was angry, and she quickly found herself once again "WHAT'S GOIN' ON HERE!"

She found herself in a sticky situation.

* * *

Well there ya have it. The second part of what can be considered an extended one shot. This was originally gonna be only two parts… but the thing go t so extremely long that it required three. So that's coming soon.

BUT! Before you leave I've got an announcement to make…

Keep an eye open for the Cabal's mass Valentines weekend posting on Friday, February 11th! Many of The Cabal members will be posting one shots or continuing their stories!

I could tell you exactly what to expect, but that will take the surprise out of it, and we all know how much I like surprises.

If you just can't wait until then to read stuff from the Cabal, then shoot on over to their pages and check them out:

Arrossisce… aussiemma… axel100… BaalRules… BoxOfTrinkets… boxofpiglets… Commander Lagasse… Coyote Laughs… ItalianBabexo8… iCabal… iCarlyangst… iLuvNathanKrEsS… JamesTheGreater… KingxLeon21… Myjumpingsocks… ober22… pairababes… Pieequals36… pigwiz… Tech-Man… The Earl of Sandwich… xXACCEBXx

I promise, you won't be disappointed.

One more thing…

Some of you may be wondering, 'what ever happened to War Games?' to those of you are asking yourselves that, I apologize. I can only write when I feel inspired to write. It doesn't inspire me when I'm harassed into writing it, so I thank all of you for not going that route, as it would've been counterproductive. Please, believe me when I say that I am trying to inspire myself so that I can continue that story. And for those of you who'll read this and say, 'That's not enough. I want War Games now!' I apologize and hope that we can, at least, agree to disagree.

Thanks for reading. Hopefully I won't have to put up that particular AN again.


	3. Chapter 3

Okey Doke ladies and gents, this'll put a nice bow on this one. No time for talk, let's get into it.

* * *

Chapter 3

Freddie had no idea how this was happening. One minute he taking his own advice and 'making it a night to remember,' the next, he was taking Gibby's advice and 'being himself' and to his surprise it seemed to be working, then he was taking her advice and trying to 'feel the music' that didn't work quite as well. Still she stayed, and before he knew it he was lost. He was lost in the music. He was lost in the moment. He was lost in her.

Unfortunately, he was found. And the guy who found him… like that… with her… did not like it. "WHAT'S GOIN' ON HERE!"

The blonde girl, who's name he had never asked for, recovered from her temporary and brief shock. "What do you care? Go run back to your whore, it's what you're good at." It seemed that this girl had more sides to her than he thought. His mind briefly filled with ways to get to know these sides, "and if you don't take your hand off of me, no one will be able to find it." That last part came out in a growl. Maybe he didn't quite want to know _all_ of the sides. She pushed the mystery guy off of her and stood next to Freddie.

"What do you think you're doing, Sam?" Freddie was too scared and a lil too tipsy for his logic to work. Freddie didn't know if the question was directed at him or at the girl who was apparently called Sam.

Freddie began to stammer out an answer when the girl answered quickly, and sharply, "I've already met a guy who treats me better than you ever did." The next thing Freddie knew, a small hand was placed around his waist in quite the possessive manner.

"Sam, you better not…"

The guy didn't have a chance to finish and Freddie didn't have a chance to process anything before a set of soft lips were on his. At first the kiss was rough and angry, tainted with the satisfaction of a vengeance that had been well carried out… and alcohol. Then the mood shifted. He felt a hand rise to the back of his neck. The kiss had turned passionate and delicate, sweetened with a hint of desire… and alcohol.

"Freddie!" both split apart at the sound of his name. They turned to see who had called out his name.

"Cassie?" "Sandy!" One voice came out sounding confused, while the other was steeped in anger.

Freddie's girlfriend, stared at the girl and Freddie could see the fear in her eyes. He turned to look at Sam, "Wait, how do you know my girlfriend?"

Sam scoffed, "Girlfriend! I walked in on the cheatin' skank while she was in my boyfriend's lap."

Freddie pieced everything together. That's why she had taken a shower when she got to his apartment. That's why her hair was a mess. That's why she didn't answer her phone… That's probably why she never answered her phone. He walked over to her, eyes narrow with determination. "it's… over."

The noise seemed to ring louder than it should have. The sting sent heat spreading across his cheek. Then, with that, she stormed off. He could smell the strong alcohol that the guy had been drinking, as he said over his shoulder, "Maybe if you had been more of a man, she wouldn't have had to come find me." Freddie knew that he should have fought the guy but the whole experience left him feeling empty inside.

Rick seeing that he would get no sport out of Freddie turned to face Sam. "You're comin with me." He seized her by the wrist, this time forcefully pulling her.

"Rick, let go of me!" Freddie heard her cries as the drifted away from him.

Freddie turned and walked over to the guy. "Hey…" Rick turned to look and Freddie's fist met him right under the eye.

Rick staggered a bit but regained his composure and lunged at Freddie. Freddie side stepped but Rick was not deterred. Rick backed Freddie down and eventually sent a punch across his face. It connected with his lip. Freddie staggered backwards, this time. But did not go down. However, Rick took his opening and tackled Freddie to the ground. Freddie quickly rolled over and hit Rick a couple more time connecting with his face. Rick flipped them yet again so that he was on top of Freddie. He punched at Freddie. Freddie moves his head and Rick connects with the floor. Freddie assumes that alcohol makes you impervious to pain because Rick seemed to have suffered no ill effect from the assault. Before Freddie could react, Rick reached down and was choking him. Freddie lay on his back gasping for air, while trying to pry Rick's fingers from around his throat. He could feel his consciousness fading when the weight was suddenly lifted off of him.

Coughing and gasping for air, Freddie looked for his rescuer. Gibby had pulled the guy off of him and the brunette girl that had come with Sam, had fetched the club security to escort Rick off of the property. Freddie just listened as the scene played around him.

"Oh my God! Sam, are you okay?" Freddie assumed the foreign voice to belong to the new girl that brought the bouncers.

"I'm fine Carly." There was a pause, "A lot better than he is." He assumed tehe comment was directed at him.

"Hey Fred, how you feelin'?" Freddie recognized the voice as belonging to Gibby, "You were in it for a while man." Freddie could hear the smile in Gibby's voice, "and you took it like a champ." Freddie cracked a smile of his own.

"Move," that was Sam's voice. Everything seemed to have stopped, he opened his eyes to see what was going on. The sight that greeted him was him being stared at by Gibby Sam and Sam's friend… Carly was her name. "Get up!"

Freddie was shocked, Gibby was taken aback, Carly smiled. Sam continued speaking, "Ok lets start pickin' up the pace here, people. They're starting to stare." Freddie looked around. Surely enough they were making a scene.

Freddie decided to speak. "Ok well someone should probably call me a cab, because I can barely walk right now." Gibby took out his phone.

Sam sighed loudly, "Is your name really Gibby? Nevermind. I suppose I can take him home in his car. Carly can drive my truck, and Gibby can take his car home… no worries. And since I locked myself out of my place, looks like I'm crashin' at your place." Freddie could do naught but nod. Gibby helped Sam get Freddie up off of the floor. Once he was steady, Sam looked over at Gibby, "Okay, you're his friend right? We'll have to follow you to get to his house. First, follow Carly and make sure she makes it outta here without being groped."

"It'll be my pleasure."

"You don't grope her either."

"I know, I'm not an animal."

"Yeah, I'm right behind you so watch yourself." Sam slowly started forward and Freddie eventually picked up the pace.

They reach his car and prepare to follow Gibby to Freddie's apartment. Sam says to him as she starts the car, "You know he would've killed you, right?"

Freddie looked over to her, "Yeah, probably."

"What were you thinking?"

"I wanted to make up for my embarrassment on the dance floor."

"By embarrassing yourself in a fight?"

"Well you either are a good dancer or you're not, but I figured that with fighting I would have a chance."

Sam could only shake her head, "You're such a nub." Freddie watched as she tilted her head in thought. "Still, I had a great time tonight… Thanks for that, I guess."

"You're talking like it was a date." Freddie chuckles and quickly stifles it. A date?

"Well if you think about it, it kinda was. We danced, we talked, you even defended my honor… and almost died in the process." Freddie laughed. She had a sense of humor. "We kissed…" The car grew silent… deathly silent.

Sam cleared her throat. "I meant it…" Freddie's eyes widened, "What I said in there, about you treating me better than he ever did." Sam heaved out a sigh, "So I guess the kiss can be thought of as a kiss of gratitude."

Freddie nodded. He liked the kiss maybe he could try to earn another, "So how about a kiss for defending your honor and almost dying in the process."

He didn't know what he was expecting to hear. He just asked for a kiss from a, more or less, stranger. He awaited her answer with baited breath. She chuckled a bit, "I'll think about it."

The rest of the short ride home was just small talk. Just finding out small things about each other. Her name was Samantha Puckett. She took a couple of years off after high school. She didn't tell, he didn't ask. No use making anything awkward now. She was a computer science major. It was one of her guilty pleasures, and she wouldn't have told him about it had they been in high school, but she figured there was money in computers, so she decided to 'give it a shot.' She had known Carly since she was little; seven or eight years old. . She and Cassandra were lab partners in chemistry. They'll probably switch on Monday. She and Rick only dated four months, she didn't get too attached. She made the right choice.

His name was Fredward Benson. Fredward was a stupid name. She made her opinion known. He edited film. He was having trouble finding work, but he found enough to keep busy and did well enough to pay bills. He even had a commercial that played during some primetime spots. The one for Al's Car Barn. That was her favorite commercial. He was also working on an indie movie, which was being directed by Gibby. He was hoping that could propel him or Gibby to the next level. He and Gibby hadn't been friends for long… less than a day according to him. He had been dating Cassandra for 6 months. He hadn't been lucky enough to detach himself completely but he had started falling away from her long ago.

They reached his apartment complex and Gibby made his trek home. Waving to the two as they left, yelling out of his window, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Freddie blushed and fumbled with his keys.

He could hear Sam laughing behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

They walked in and she made herself comfy on his couch. Freddie disappears into the back room. She waits silently. This room isn't much to look at. There's a couch a coffee table and a tv. A desk with a laptop on it sat against the wall. She guessed that was where he worked. The kitchen was across room. She got up and headed to his fridge.

While searching through it she heard his voice behind her. "Find anything you like?" She heard the smile in his voice and was not amused.

"Are you serious! Your fridge is empty!"

"No I'm not serious, hence the fact that I'm laughing." She glared at him and his cheeky grin, "Before you rip my off, though, I do have cereal… and it is technically morning. So what do you say?" She watches him pull the cereal box from the top of the refrigerator. "Care to join me?"

Why not, if she had to spend the night here, she might as well eat."Sure."

They ate more or less in silence. Running out of small talk, they just stared at each other. Sam noticed that a smirk had developed on Freddie's face. "What?"

"Well I was just thinkin' about how you said this was a date." Sam just raised her eyebrows to urge him to continue. "Well, now that I've supplied food, it makes our date official." She giggles and he starts to laugh with her.

"Normally I'd call you cheap and tell you to go out and get me somethin' to eat, but since you're cute I'll let it slide."

Just like that, everything stopped. They stopped laughing, they stopped eating, they stopped making reasonable eye contact, and all other evidence would point to them stopping this conversation.

Sam cleared her throat, "Well thanks for letting me crash here, and for the cereal, but its getting late and I should get some rest."

"Umm… sure." She looked at Freddie and he seemed jumpy, "well since I've been sleeping on the couch all week, you can take my room. The sheets are clean so no worries there."

"No, I couldn't take your bed."

"It's fine, really. Because of all the late nights that I spent editing the bed is more for show anyway and the couch probably smells worse."

Sam wouldn't argue that point. "Lead the way."

She followed him to his room. He gave her a pair of sweats and a T shirt and turned to leave the room. "Good night, and thanks for driving me home."

Sam stares at him a bit and smiles as she walks over to him, "Thanks for tonight. I had a great time."

"The way you say that makes it sound like a date."

"Yeah."

And with that she closed the distance between their faces. She feels Freddie's hands wrap around her waist. She snakes her arms around his neck. Both are well aware of what was happening, this time. She feels a tongue slide across her lips. She feels her own lips open as she is acting solely on instinct at this point. Freddie's tongue enters her mouth and they fight. Their tongues fight in such a coordinated fashion that some may call it dancing, if they were privy to such a show as this. They get lost in the aforementioned dance and Sam pulls back towards the bed. Freddies follows her willingly. Sam rubs the back of his neck, grazing a spot behind his ear that draws a throaty moan out of Freddie. That sound lets her know that Freddie, at this point, would follow her anywhere.

And she would gladly take him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Freddie woke up in a haze the next morning. He surveyed his surroundings. He hadn't woken up in his bed in a long time. He had no idea he'd feel this good. He hadn't been away from his bed long, at least not long enough to have it feel this good. He feels a figure moving next to him. Suddenly the previous night comes flooding back to him. He blushes and turns from her, then remembers that she is still asleep.

How could he have let this happen? He liked her, sure. But was it enough? Was it enough for her?

She wasn't drunk, so he didn't take advantage of her in that aspect, so at least his conscious is clear on that front. But she was vulnerable, he was vulnerable, they had just left relationships in a rather loud and fashion. What if he was just a rebound guy? Could he handle being dumped twice in a span of hours? He'd rather not find out.

But that would mean a relationship. Could he go through _that_ again? She was a completely different person so maybe it would be different. Maybe this time he coul- "Mornin' sunshine." Said Sam, interrupting his thoughts.

"Mornin' sunshine? Is that all you have to say?"

He watched her as a face of indifference set in, "What's for breakfast?"

"Sam… I think we need to talk about what happened last night."

He heard her sigh in resignation, "When a guy and girl decide that they like each other, they develop certain 'feelings'."

"Not _that_ talk! I've already had that awkward moment."

"Really then why'd you say we needed to talk about it?"

"I wasn't talking about the act I was referring to the implications and consequences of the act."

"Oh… those." There was a pause, "You used a condom so there shouldn't be any severe long term consequences."

"Are you serious?" Freddie had to draw upon all of his will power to keep from slapping his own forehead and losing his temper. "I mean 'us', you know?" He looked at her face and he knew that she knew what he was talking about.

There was another long pause. He wishes he could read her mind and know what she thought… how she felt. He watched her as she got up and walked over to her jacket and pulled out a camera. She walked out of the room and to the front of his apartment and he diligently followed, curious as to where she was going. She walked over to his laptop and turned it on. He opened her mouth to let her know that the laptop was password protected. However, at the first sound that left his lips, she silenced him. He begrudgingly sank back into silence. She typed in the password and the laptop showed his desktop.

"how did you…"

"You're very creative when it comes to technical stuff. But generally the trade off is not being creative with arts of all forms. Knowing that I imagined that your password would unimaginative, perhaps like your ex girlfriend's name."

"Well I was gonna change it, but I was, otherwise, preoccupied." He shot her a smirk as he caught a faint blush.

She smirked back and turned around. She clicked on a couple of items that Freddie couldn't quite make out. She eventually found what she was looking for. A video of some kind. She paused it and turned around. "Freddie, I'm well aware of what happened. I'm well aware of what it currently means and what it could mean. I've given this a lotta thought."

"When?"

"I woke up a couple of hours before you did. And decided to do some poking around. Also I had something to do and I needed your laptop to do it."

"That video?"

"Yes, now don't interrupt."

"Ok, ok."

"I reviewed the whole night. The way Rick spoke to me, lied to me, and tried to manhandle me. I reviewed the scrunges that approached me at that club. On dirty scrunge in particular. Then I reviewed the way you treated me… even when you were drunk. You had every opportunity to act just as bad as the others did. But you didn't, you didn't pressure me and you didn't belittle me." She looks up at him and he starts to walk over to her. "You were different, you are different. And I believe that you deserve a shot."

Freddie closed the distance between them and placed a kiss on her forehead. She smiled and stayed wrapped in his embrace.

Then she smirked, and returned to the laptop. "If, however, you prove to be… not different… _this_ will happen." She clicked play.

_~~start video~~_

_The video starts with a close up of Sam's face. "This is a video letter to the cheating douche nozzle formerly known as Rick."_

"_Dear turd munch, I'm tired of you and everything about you." The camera turned to show that she was in a parking lot. They looked to be at the park but it was hard to tell, "'everything' includes…" The camera rests on a card box labeled 'Rick's Crap' "That's right, you sniveling weasel, that is every piece of anything that you had at my place. Take a good look at it because pretty soon it'll live up to the name on the box… not that it doesn't already." _

_With those words she handed the camera to someone and ran to her truck. Whoever was holding the camera stepped back to get both the box and the truck in the same frame. There something else next to the box but Freddie couldn't quite tell what it was. _

"Is that his stereo system?"

"Yes, now shush, this is the best part."

_The engine roars, as if it was a lion announcing its murderous intent. The truck backs off screen. With one final roar the truck surges forward. And crushes the cardboard box and obliterates the Stereo. Sam silences the truck's content purring and gets out of the truck cackling like a maniac. She goes around to the truck bed and puts on a pair of gloves and some safety goggles._

"Where'd you get those?"

"Shhh."

_She pulled a gym mat out of the truck bed and threw it on the ground and watched as it unfolded. She returned to the truck bed, apparently to fetch three statues. She placed them on the gym mat and returned to her truck bed once more. This time she came out wielding a sledgehammer. _

_She raised the hammer over her head and brought it down on the first statue. Her voice sounded, "That was for me having to put up with you." She repeated the action with the second statue, "That's for the next girl dumb enough to put up with you." She repeated the action one final time, dispatching of the statue with a grotesque satisfaction. "and that was for your mother who was smart enough to stop putting up with you." She tosses the sledgehammer into the truck bed. "Sam, Be careful!" Comes a concerned voice from behind the Camera._

"Is that Carly?"

"Of course, now quiet down this is the big finale."

_Sam retrieves a tank of gasoline and a pack what seem to be fireworks. She places the fireworks next to Carly. She proceeds to douse the remains of the cardboard box in gasoline. Having accomplished this step, she set off retrieving a rocket. She aimed it and lit the fuse and addressed the camera once again, "So Rick, in summation, this will be symbolic of that Hell that you put me through. It is also symbolic of the future of this relationship." The rocket's fuse finally ran short and it fired into the cardboard. It exploded behind her. The camera closed up on the damage. Sam spoke once more, "If you haven't guessed by now, We're Done." Her and Carly viewed their damage, Sam spoke once more, "Sincerely with hatred, Sam Puckett."_

_The fire burned about ten minutes. Then Carly sounded, "Sam, maybe we should put it out now."Sam shrugged and went to the truck. She came out wearing the club outfit. Sam grabbed the camera while Carly left to go change. "See Rick, next time you'll think twice before cheating you sorry excuse for a scum bag."_

_Carly returned shortly thereafter. "Ooh, we should take pictures and send them to my brother. I really likes fire. "_

"_Good idea kid, This has been Sam Puckett, saying, Good riddance Douche." And with those words the video ended._

_~~end video~~_

Freddie stared at his computer screen. He knew that Sam just had to be laughing at him. Sam stopped her giggling fit. "Are we clear?"

Freddie nodded, "Crystal."

"Great… so, boyfriend…" He would be lying if he told you that he didn't like the way it sounded, "About that breakfast."

He nodded, "Well I'll wash up and get dressed and we can take you out to eat." He watched her dance up out of the chair. I will be waiting. As he was brushing his teeth a thought occurred to him. She had gotten rid of all evidence of her ex. It was time he did the same. He spit out the toothpaste, rinsed and poked his head out of the door.

"Do you have any more cardboard boxes?'

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rick woke up the next morning with a killer headache and a hazy memory of the night before. He took a couple of asprin. He checks his phone and sees a message from a number he didn't recognize.

_Check your email for  
a special surprise._

While the night was hazy he did remember being dumped. Maybe this would be a good surprise. He sits at his desktop and opens his email account. He sees a message from Sam.

"She sent me a video." He says to himself. He checks the date, "She sent it this morning at 3:52." _Maybe she decided to take me back._

He plays it.

"What the…"

"Crap?"

"Is that my stereo?"

"What is she about to do with that truck?" The sound of a roaring engine and the image of his exploding stereo will haunt him for the rest of his life.

"OH MY GOD!" He sat, staring wide eyed at the computer screen.

"What is she doing with that sledg-…" he watches as Sam shatters his priceless statues, "I got those from my Grandfather!" He sat and watched helplessly, as he watched his statues shatter.

He rubbed his eyes hoping that it was all a dream. Or some crazy side-effect of something that somebody put in his drink. The sound of Sam's voice brought his attention back to the computer screen.

"_So Rick, in summation, this will be symbolic of that Hell that you put me through. It is also symbolic of the future of this relationship."_

"Wha-…" his query was cut short by the sound and sight of a rocket firing and colliding with his box of stuff that was labeled 'Rick's Crap', followed by the sights and sounds of the aforementioned box going up in flames. Rick was brought out of stupor once again by Sam's voice.

"_If you haven't guessed by now, We're Done. Sincerely, with hatred, Sam Puckett."_

This was, officially the worst surprise of his life. He went to exit out of the video and the screen went blank. Rick went to press the delete button, because he had literally no idea what to do. The screen flashed white and a flash animation of Sam popped up on the screen with what looked like a bazooka. Flash-Sam shot the bazooka towards the screen, it exploded and Rick was left looking at a blue screen.

This really was the worst surprise of his entire life.

":MOOOOTHEEER FUUUUUUU…"

* * *

And that, ladies and gents puts an end to it. Tell me wat ya think. Thank you guys for reading this fic… and hopefully I'll have other updates ready soon.

If you want to read other fantastic stuff from the Cabal, then shoot on over to their pages and check them out:

Arrossisce… aussiemma… axel100… BaalRules… BoxOfTrinkets… boxofpiglets… Commander Lagasse… Coyote Laughs… ItalianBabexo8… iCabal… iCarlyangst… iLuvNathanKrEsS… JamesTheGreater… KingxLeon21… Myjumpingsocks… ober22… pairababes… Pieequals36… pigwiz… Tech-Man… The Earl of Sandwich… xXACCEBXx

I promise, you won't be disappointed


End file.
